1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a flag set and more particularly relates to a flag set that permits a variety of support arms to be attached to a pole.
2. Description of the Related Art
Several types of flag sets are known. For example, the most common type of flag set comprises a single flag unit attached to a pole. A support rod (support arm) is mounted perpendicular to the pole at the top of the pole. The support rod suspends the top edge of a flag or banner.
Another type of flag set is shown in FIG. 16 and includes two flag units 820a, 820b that are installed in opposite directions from a pole 810. A support arm 830 is formed in the shape of a straight rod and is mounted on top of the pole 810. The top edges of the two flag units 820a, 820b are suspended by the support arm 830. The two flag units 820a and 820b are connected by a plurality of loops 822 that are used to attach the flag unit(s) to the pole. A plurality of loops 826 is used to attach the flag unit to the support rod and are disposed at the top edge of each flag unit 820a and 820b. The two flag units 820a and 820b are attached to the pole 810 by the loops 822, which are used to attach the flag unit(s) to the pole. The two flag units 820a and 820b are also attached to the support arm 830 by the loops 826, which are used to attach the flag unit to the support rod.
Attachment part 840 is mounted on top of the pole 810 and as shown in more detail in FIG. 17. A penetrating hole 847 is bored through the attachment part 840 in a direction perpendicular to the pole 810. The cross section of the hole 847 is made to conform to the cross section of the support arm 830. In other words, the hole 847 has approximately the same area as the cross section of the support arm 830. A fastening part 850 is screwed onto the top of attachment part 840. A fastening hook 835a is first attached to one end of the support arm 830 and then a detachable fastening hook 835b is attached to the other end of the support arm 830. The loops 826 located at the tip of the flag units 820a and 820b (in other words, the loop farthest away from the pole) are hooked onto the attached hook 835a and the detachable hook 835b, as shown in FIG. 16. The flag units 820a and 820b are attached to the support arm 830 in this manner.
The support arm 830 is passed through the penetrating hole 847 with the detachable hook 835b removed from the support arm 830, as shown in FIG. 17. Then, the support arm 830 is fixed to the attachment part 840 and connected to the pole 810 by attaching the fastening part 850. After the support arm 830 is passed through the penetrating hole 847, the detachable hook 835b is re-attached to the other end of support arm 830. The support arm 830 is passed through the penetrating hole 847 in the pole 810 with the detachable hook 835b removed, because the penetrating hole 847 is made to match the cross section of the support arm 830. If the hole is too big, it would be difficult to firmly fix the support arm 830. Moreover, the support arm 830 can not pass through the penetrating hole 847 unless the detachable hook 835b is removed.
However, such a flag set presents several problems. First, the shape of support arm 830 is limited to a straight rod, because any other shape would be difficult to pass through hole 847. Further, one of the two hooks 835a or 835b must be made detachable from the support arm 830, as a non-permanently attached hook 835b. That is, both hooks can not be permanently fixed to the straight rod. Thus, if the support arm 830 is attached or detached from the pole 810, the detachable hook 835b must be removed from the support arm 830. Consequently, when the flag set is assembled or disassembled, the detachable hook 835b tends can be easily misplaced and lost.
It is, accordingly, one object of the present invention to teach improved flag sets.
In one aspect of the present teachings, flag sets are taught that provide a greater degree of freedom to design the structure of the support arm and preferably, a variety of support arms may be utilized with the flag set.
In another aspect of the present teachings, the support arm may be installed within the attachment part from above after the fastening part is removed from the pole. Then, as the fastening part is re-attached to the top of the pole, the support arm is fixed to the attachment part, and the support arm is connected to the top of the pole. For example, the support arm may be inserted from the topside of the pole (attachment part). Therefore, the hooks do not get in the way when the support arm is connected to the pole, even when all the hooks are attached ahead of time. The same advantage is realized when the support is disassembled from the pole. Consequently, in such a flag set, it is possible to permanently attach the hooks to the support arm, and the problem of misplacing the hooks can be avoided.
The hooks may be made separately from the support arm and then attached to the support arm. Alternatively, the hooks may be integral with the support arm. While the hooks can be removably attached to the support arm using a fastener or a suitable adhesive agent, the hooks are preferably permanently attached to the support arm.
Additionally, the support arm may be designed to be inserted into the pole (attachment part) from the topside. Therefore, the support arm can be connected to the pole even when it consists of more than three support rods that are arranged radially. Consequently, such a flag set can retain three or more flags on the pole at the same height. Further, the support arm is not required to be straight and, for example, a curved support arm may be utilized with the present flag sets. Thus, the present flag sets permit the use of a variety of support arms.
The attachment part is not required to be integrally formed on the pole. Thus, a separately formed attachment part may be installed on the pole. In addition, the fastening part may be attached to a separate part provided on the pole. Moreover, the attachment part may be inserted diagonally from above.
The present flag units include flags (banners) having a horizontal length greater than the vertical length and also include flags having much greater vertical length than the horizontal length. In addition, the support arm (in other words, the flag unit) may be connected to the pole in such a manner that it can rotate about the pole axis or it may be connected to the pole in a fixed position.
In another aspect of the present teachings, the attachment part may be formed at the top of the pole and may be capable of accepting two or more different types of support arms. Consequently, any desired flag unit (singular or plural) can be selected out of group of flag units. The support arm corresponding to the flag unit may be selected from a plurality of different support arms and inserted into the attachment part. Then, by attaching the fastening part to the top of the pole, the support arm is fixed to the attachment part, and the support arm is connected to the top of the pole. As a result, any desired flag unit selected from the flag unit group can be attached to the pole.
A plurality of flag units may be attached or only a single flag unit may be attached to the pole. Further, the support arm may hold the top edges of a plurality of flag units or only a single flag may be held. Additionally, a plurality of flag units may be selected or only a single flag unit may be selected. For example, a flag unit group may include 6 different flag units. Only one of the 6 flag units may be selected or two or more of the 6 flag units may be selected and attached to the pole. Further, there may be cases where only a single flag unit is used, or two joined flag units comprising two flag units are joined together. Naturally, 6 joined flag units comprising 6 flag units that are joined together may also be utilized.
In addition, one or more support arms may be selected from the group of support arms and one or more flag units selected from the group of said flag units. In addition, the size and/or shape of the flag unit can be selected from a group of flag units having different sizes and/or shapes. A plurality of flag units may be provided to allow a selection of various numbers of flag units. Various types of support arms may be provided to correspond to the number of flag units to be held by the pole. Naturally, various support arms also may be provided to correspond to various sizes and shapes of the flag units to be held by the pole.
In another aspect of the present teachings, each support rod (the part close to its base) is inserted into the attachment part from the top after the fastening part is removed from the pole. Then, as the fastening part is re-attached to the top of the pole and the base of each support rod is pressed together between a receiver portion and a contacting portion. The support rods are fixed to the attachment part in this manner and each support rod is coupled to the top of the pole. Additionally, each support rod is maintained at a prescribed angle with respect to the pole. Because the support rods are connected to the pole (attachment part) by insertion from the top, three or more support rods may be connected radially to the pole at the same height. Thus, this design provides additional freedom to design the support arms.
Herein, the part attached to the top of pole to hold the top edge of the flag unit (singular or plural) will be called the xe2x80x9csupport arm.xe2x80x9d When the support arm holds the top edges of a plurality of flag units attached in different directions with respect to the pole, each part of the support arm that holds the top edge of the flag unit in different directions with respect to the pole will be called the xe2x80x9csupport rodxe2x80x9d. Additionally, the portion of the support arm that extends from the pole (or proximally thereto) in the radial direction will sometimes be called the xe2x80x9csupport rod.xe2x80x9d In other words, even when the support arm includes a plurality of separate support rods (i.e. one support arm is divided into two or more separate support rods), it will be called the xe2x80x9csupport rod.xe2x80x9d
Additional objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be readily understood after reading the following detailed description together with the accompanying drawings and the claims.